Sam Reinhart’s Four-Goal Performance Leads Florida Panthers to Second Straight Stanley Cup Title, Defeat Edmonton 5-1
By Space Coast Daily // June 17, 2025
ABOVE VIDEO: Full Game Highlights of Florida Panthers vs. Edmonton Oilers in Game 6
SUNRISE, FLORIDA – The Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions once again.
Sam Reinhart tied a Stanley Cup Final record with four goals, leading the Panthers to a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 6 on Tuesday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
Florida secured its second consecutive title, becoming the NHL’s first back-to-back champion since the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and 2021.
Reinhart became just the second player in NHL history to score four goals in a Cup-clinching game and recorded the first hat trick and four-goal performance in Panthers playoff history. Carter Verhaeghe contributed three assists, Aleksander Barkov added two, and Matthew Tkachuk also found the back of the net.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves to anchor a strong defensive effort that stifled Edmonton’s high-powered offense and superstar Connor McDavid. Vasily Podkolzin scored the Oilers’ lone goal, while goaltender Stuart Skinner finished with 20 saves.
Florida defeated Edmonton in the Final for the second straight season, having won a seven-game series in 2024. This year, the Panthers avoided a Game 7 with a commanding win in front of their home crowd.
Forward Sam Bennett was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP after leading the league with 15 goals across 23 postseason games.
Reinhart opened the scoring just 4:36 into the first period with an impressive solo effort, intercepting a pass near the blue line and finishing while falling to the ice. Tkachuk extended the lead to 2-0 with 47 seconds left in the opening frame, capitalizing on a turnover and firing a shot through a screen.
Bobrovsky kept Edmonton off the board with 10 saves in each of the first two periods, including key stops on Evan Bouchard and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
Reinhart netted his second goal late in the second period after redirecting a rebound off his skate, then sealed the win with a pair of empty-net goals in the third, pushing the lead to 5-0.
Podkolzin spoiled Bobrovsky’s shutout with a goal at 15:18 of the third, but it was far too late to spark a comeback.
With the win, Florida joined elite company as the first team since the 1977-78 Montreal Canadiens to defeat the same opponent in consecutive Cup Finals.
